The Oregon Poetry Association Annual Conference will be on October 4-5, 2024 at the Best Western Agate Beach Inn in Newport, Oregon and online.
Registration
The cost is $225 for non-members, $175 for members, $99 for online attendees, and $60 for students.
Special Reading by the Oregon Poet Laureate
OPA welcomes the recently appointed Oregon Poet Laureate, Ellen Waterston, to the conference on October 4th, where she will read from her work that evening.
Keynotes
Headlining the festivities are keynote speakers Marcus Lattimore, champion slam poet, and poet and teacher Annie Lighthart. Eight exciting workshops will be available - read the workshop descriptions here!
Here are your 2024 Keynotes.
Marcus Lattimore is a former professional athlete turned writer. In an effort to reinvent himself after his career in football, Marcus moved to Portland in 2020, where writing and hiking became daily rituals. Since then, he has performed in local theater and won Slamlandia’s 2024 Grand Slam Poetry contest. He represented OPA at the National Blackberry Peach slam competition in Georgia. Marcus and his wife co-founded a business ZENMNM which hosts creative wellness workshops across Portland.
Annie Lighthart is a poet and teacher who started writing poetry after her first visit to an Oregon old-growth forest. She has taught at Boston College and with writers of all ages. Poems from her books Pax and Iron String have been featured on The Writer’s Almanac and in various anthologies, including Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems and How to Love the World. Annie’s poems have been turned into music, used in meditation and healing projects in Ireland, England, and New Zealand, and have traveled farther than she has.
Hotel Reservations
Please call the Best Western Agate Beach Inn to make your reservation (mention you are with the Oregon Poetry Association) - 541-265-9411.
The special OPA Conference rate ends September 4, so make yours now!
Previous Guest Poets
OPA has a wonderful history of bringing in, from all parts of our state and all across the nation, poets whose words inspire us and whose workshops teach us. Many of our own members have also led workshops at conferences for free or very nominal fees. We have all been enriched by their contributions as well. Some of our previous guest poets include:
- Kim Stafford
- Emmett Wheatfall
- Paisley Rekdal
- Paulann Petersen
- Cindy Williams Gutierrez
- Heather McHugh
- Matthew Dickman
- Judith Montgomery
- Laurel Blossom
- Daniel Nathan Terry
- Clem Starck
- Charles Goodrich
- Tess Gallagher
- Paul Hunter
- Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge
- John C. Morrison
- Jessica Mehta
The Patricia Ruth Banta Award
The Patricia Ruth Banta Award, which honors an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to Oregon poetry and to OPA’s mission, is presented during the conference. This award was established in honor of Patricia Ruth Banta a former president of the Oregon Poetry Association.
Notes on Nominees:
The nominee can be an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to Oregon poetry and to OPA’s mission to build and sustain a diverse community of Oregon poets, provide Oregon poets opportunities to exchange ideas and learn from one another, further the appreciation of poetry throughout the state, and raise public awareness of Oregon poets. The award will be announced in the fall with a non-monetary prize.